1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to enhancing one-way broadcast data transmissions. More particularly, it relates to enhancing the quality and content of a primary information stream by creating and transmitting associated data which provides the appearance of an interactive connection to secondary sources of information.
2. Background
One of the limitations of nearly all forms of electronic mass media such as radio, television, audio CD's and video cassettes is that the communication of information or data is one-way from provider to the consumer. The characteristics of one-way sources of data are that the data is sent sequentially and is fleeting or at best can be recorded for later playback. Additionally, a consumer cannot interact with the data provided to seek additional information or services.
There is a desire by electronic mass media consumers for additional services, and providers of television and radio broadcast services are looking for new sources of revenue. In particular, consumers are looking for information or data that is related to what they are viewing in the media. The additional information may be in the form of details on the content of the current program such as the recipe of a meal being demonstrated on a cooking show or biographies of actors in a drama or historical background information on events depicted in a program. In another example, it could be program highlights such as key plays from a baseball game. In addition, consumers would like access to real time data such as stock prices, updated baseball scores as they occur, traffic and weather conditions and so on. Also, consumers would like to have access to special services associated with product advertising such as information on where to buy nationally advertised products--possible with a map to the nearest location, or the ability to instantly receive coupons.
Recently, on-line services such as provided by the World Wide Web of the Internet have become available. Such services provide access to immense amounts of data on an interactive basis by linking digital computers together over sophisticated communications networks. At the same time, the cost of digital computing power is falling rapidly. For example, many homes now have one or more computers. And home computers have displays capable of showing television as well as audio capability. They also have memory and computing power.
But while such services are generally available and computers are becoming more widespread, finding relevant information is an arduous task that may take hours of searching even for an experienced user.
In addition, these services require a 2-way connection from a consumer's location to the on-line network. In the consumer market, prolonged utilization of a single phone line for 2-way digital communications is expensive.
Up until now, there has been no way for producers of mass market broadcast programming to deliver data associated by its relevancy to its subject matter that could be interactively displayed and manipulated by consumers on a real time basis. What is meant by real time is that the consumer receives and has access to the relevant data during the process of program reception. Therefore the data becomes an integral part of the experience desired by the program producers.
Although received during a program, the information is retained and may be traversed by the consumer at a later time, as if they were connected in a 2-way fashion to an on-line service.
3. Prior Art
Perhaps the earliest effort to address the foregoing needs is for program content providers to include a telephone number in either the radio of television broadcast. The consumer is invited to dial a number for additional information. However, this telephone number is part of the primary data stream which is transitory.
A second attempt is the provision of closed caption programming for the hearing impaired on television. This takes the form of written text appearing somewhere on the television screen, typically at the bottom, and requires a special decoder on the television. The text is a written rendition of the audio portion of the television program. That is, it is a recapitulation of the information supplied by the primary data provider and is not stored or saved for later access by the consumer.
Television networks also use a part of the unused bandwidth in the video signal to send the schedule of programs coming up on that network. One network is sending a comprehensive program listing in digital format over an unused section of the NTSC bandwidth. This is called an electronic program guide ("EPG"). A second network uses a portion of the unused NTSC bandwidth to send digitally encoded stock quotes and the subject matter of the topics covered in the news broadcast, and extended data services ("XDS") sends the date, time, name of a scheduled program, type of program and how much of the program remains. Cable services provide additional detail about songs being played on subscriber digital audio services such as digital music express ("DMX.TM."); the detail typically consists of the name of the artist, the name of the song and the album. A system called Gemstar.TM., provides information in digital format that enables consumers to record programs by referencing a number in a program guide.
Many of the foregoing services are provided on broadcast television only over what is called the vertical blanking interval (the "VBI"). The VBI is a portion of the bandwidth defined for broadcast television and in the case of National Television Standards Committee (NTSC), for example, consists of the first 21 of the 525 raster lines that define a video frame. Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire (SECAM) and Phase Alternate Lines (PAL) have a similar arrangement. Of the 21 lines, line 21 is divided into two frames of 60 hz bandwidth each. The closed caption is provided in the first frame of line 21.
None of the foregoing allow a consumer to experience apparent interactively with external data sources. That is, none provides data that persists for more than a few seconds and none allows the consumer to directly manipulate that data.